Busy first month for Okaloosa County’s airports director

By DUSTY RICKETTS / Daily News

Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 06:57 PM.

It has been a busy first month on the job for Okaloosa County’s new airports director.

Sunil Harman took over July 23 and has spent a lot of his time meeting with county and community leaders to gauge what direction they want Northwest Florida Regional Airport, Destin Airport and Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview to move.

“I really listen more than talk,” Harman said Wednesday. “I have the ability to absorb a lot of information, so I’ve been doing a lot of listening and noting what is a high priority and what is not.”

One of the early directions he has received from the County Commission is to further develop Bob Sikes Airport as an economic engine for the county. Although the county has made $70 million in infrastructure improvements and parcels are ready to be developed, access to the airport is not very good.

That could change soon.

Harman is developing an agreement with the Public Works Department to oversee improvements to provide access to U.S. Highway 90. An environmental assessment is expected to be completed in the next two months, and he wants to move ahead with the improvements as a design-build project to compress the time schedule.

“That’s how I’ve always operated,” Harman said. “I go to the most competent people, and our Public Works Department has the expertise to do that.”

Harman also is overseeing fast-track efforts to get a new air traffic control tower at Destin Airport.

The county has received environmental approval to move forward with the tower and Harman said design work is underway. He wants to have the tower completed in two years.

Meanwhile, several smaller projects are taking shape at Northwest Florida Regional to make it more user-friendly.

Landscaping improvements are underway to add some color.

“We’re doing a lot of low-cost, high-impact improvements at VPS,” Harman said. “Although our airport is less than 10 years old, it has a lot of hard edges to it. What we’re doing is aesthetically improving it.”

The airport plans to set aside an outdoor pet relief area for travelers with pets or service animals.

Harman also wants to have the county’s taxicab ordinance revised to establish some customer service standards that would address a dress code and hygiene for the cab drivers. He also wants a more standardized rate structure that would allow the airport to post signs to give passengers an estimate of what it would cost to get where they’re going.

Harman took over as airports director from Greg Donovan, who left March 1. He came to Okaloosa County from Tallahassee, where he was aviation director for more than two years.

Harman previously served as interim assistant director and division director for aviation for Miami-Dade County and as director for airport systems planning for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

It has been a busy first month on the job for Okaloosa County’s new airports director.

Sunil Harman took over July 23 and has spent a lot of his time meeting with county and community leaders to gauge what direction they want Northwest Florida Regional Airport, Destin Airport and Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview to move.

“I really listen more than talk,” Harman said Wednesday. “I have the ability to absorb a lot of information, so I’ve been doing a lot of listening and noting what is a high priority and what is not.”

One of the early directions he has received from the County Commission is to further develop Bob Sikes Airport as an economic engine for the county. Although the county has made $70 million in infrastructure improvements and parcels are ready to be developed, access to the airport is not very good.

That could change soon.

Harman is developing an agreement with the Public Works Department to oversee improvements to provide access to U.S. Highway 90. An environmental assessment is expected to be completed in the next two months, and he wants to move ahead with the improvements as a design-build project to compress the time schedule.

“That’s how I’ve always operated,” Harman said. “I go to the most competent people, and our Public Works Department has the expertise to do that.”

Harman also is overseeing fast-track efforts to get a new air traffic control tower at Destin Airport.

The county has received environmental approval to move forward with the tower and Harman said design work is underway. He wants to have the tower completed in two years.

Meanwhile, several smaller projects are taking shape at Northwest Florida Regional to make it more user-friendly.

Landscaping improvements are underway to add some color.

“We’re doing a lot of low-cost, high-impact improvements at VPS,” Harman said. “Although our airport is less than 10 years old, it has a lot of hard edges to it. What we’re doing is aesthetically improving it.”

The airport plans to set aside an outdoor pet relief area for travelers with pets or service animals.

Harman also wants to have the county’s taxicab ordinance revised to establish some customer service standards that would address a dress code and hygiene for the cab drivers. He also wants a more standardized rate structure that would allow the airport to post signs to give passengers an estimate of what it would cost to get where they’re going.

Harman took over as airports director from Greg Donovan, who left March 1. He came to Okaloosa County from Tallahassee, where he was aviation director for more than two years.

Harman previously served as interim assistant director and division director for aviation for Miami-Dade County and as director for airport systems planning for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.